A’s officially put Suzuki on DL, and some thoughts on Josh Donaldson

The expected announcements came down today from the A’s — right-hander Trevor Cahill and catcher Josh Donaldson were called up and Kurt Suzuki was put on the DL. Outfielder Matt Carson was sent to the minors to open up needed space on the 25-man roster. And to squeeze Donaldson on the 40-man roster, reliever Joey Devine was transferred to the 60-day DL.

This is Suzuki’s first career stint on the disabled list. … You sort of take his presence for granted because he’s been the A’s iron man. He would be eligible to return May 9, and manager Bob Geren is hopeful Suzuki would be ready by then.

Until then, Geren said he’ll rotate Landon Powell, Jake Fox and Donaldson as he sees fit, depending on the opposing pitcher and which catcher is playing well. Geren said he’s leaning toward giving Donaldson his first big league start tomorrow. The manager has had high praise for Donaldson over the past two spring camps, but he said Donaldson has really improved his defense, in particular, this season.

I’m interested to see where Donaldson, 24, fits into the long-range picture for the A’s. Suzuki is entrenched as the starting catcher, and 19-year-old Max Stassi is a big-time prospect who looks like he’ll progress through the farm system fairly quickly. What does that mean for Donaldson’s window of opportunity? Time will tell. But the A’s think highly of him, and he’s made a quick rise through the ranks himself since being traded to Oakland in 2008.